Heart Lessons Podcast

Although at times life circumstances can make it seem as though God's still small voice is too small or too distant to hear, the truth is that He is always working in the hearts of His children, guiding and prompting us to walk well in the unique story He has written for each one of us. The Heart Lessons Podcast features conversations centered on how God moves in the hearts of His beloved daughters to help us best navigate the path He has for us, the grief, the grit, the grace, and everything in between. Real women. Real stories. Real faith.

Today on the Heart Lessons podcast you will hear from my friend, Molly Timan. Molly and her husband faithfully serve in the children's ministry at their church, but they also have a huge heart for foster care. Molly talks about her experiences as a foster mom and all the ways she has grown from these experiences. She also shares openly about the hardest parts of this journey, including what it was like to give back the first foster child they cared for and how she worked through the pain of realizing they couldn't adequately meet the needs of another child they were caring for. And Molly's heart lesson is one I'm sure we all need to hear - less of me, more of Christ. Listen and be encouraged and maybe, if the Lord leads, be brave enough to start your own journey in foster care.

*Just a note, there were some moments while we were recording that the recorder and microphone picked up random radio signals that were unable to be fixed in the editing process. If you would, please overlook that technical error. Thank you!

Because of Holly's challenging words on surrender, I thought it might be appropriate to read the entire chapter of "Submission" from Nancy Guthrie's book, "Holding Onto Hope". This excerpt from her book is sure to give you a different perspective on submission (surrender) to God's will, despite hardship. Even when life circumstances are difficult, we can trust God, that He has a great purpose in mind, and rest there. I hope you enjoy this midweek mini episode of Heart Lessons.

*I misspoke early in the episode and said "die at death" instead of "die at birth". Please forgive me.

In episode thirteen of the Heart Lessons podcast, you will hear from my friend, Holly Colonna. Even though I went to youth group with her husband and attend the same church as her sweet in-laws, I didn't actually connect with Holly until a little over a year ago, when she and her husband received some worrisome news about their first baby in their twenty week ultrasound. At the time, it wasn't 100% certain that baby Benjamin's condition was fatal, but Holly and I were still able to connect over just having to get through those months of uncertainty.

Sadly, baby Benjamin did pass away at two-and-a-half months. As you can imagine, losing her sweet baby boy has been so incredibly heartbreaking for Holly. She speaks so candidly about her journey with him, and shares all the parts - the sweet moments as well as the deeply painful ones. She also shares her heart lesson about the discipline - the choice - to surrender to the Lord's will. She speaks so much perspective-changing truth in those few moments, you definitely won't want to miss it.

In today's episode of Heart Lessons, you'll hear from Sarah Ann Rogers. Sarah is a wife, mama, blogger, and now podcaster! Her podcast, Tell Her Story, launched last Thursday so definitely head over to itunes and check it out. In this episode, Sarah shares about her experience with Postpartum Depression and Anxiety. Sarah talks about the fact that, what really surprised her most is that she was even walking in darkness at all. She shares how the Lord brought her out of that darkness, through meditating on Scripture, taking every thought captive, purposely pulling back and giving herself time and space to heal, and taking the medications that were recommended and prescribed by her midwives. Sarah can speak from a place of experience and a place of feeling victory over this struggle. I hope you will listen and find encouragement and, as always, your own heart lesson to help you draw closer to the Lord.

Today's episode of Heart Lessons features my special guest, my
husband Josh. Our intention in recording this episode was to be a
resource to moms, dads, and couples walking the difficult road of
infant loss. We want to contribute to the resources out there that
can help, specifically dads, in that journey. In this episode, we
talk about the events of our losses - from diagnosis day, to
delivery story, to our time with each baby, and life afterwards.
Josh shares what his thought processes and feelings were during
those times. He also answers some questions submitted by blog
followers and podcast listeners, including his bonding process, his
strategy for supporting me through it all, and what his advice
would be to a dad facing infant loss. Toward the end, we share what
brought us through as a couple and what kept us connected to each
other instead of growing apart. Josh also shares his prayer - his
"heart lesson" through it all - that it is well with his soul.

I realize this episode is almost double what most other Heart
Lessons podcasts have been. Honestly, we just started talking and
the clock kept going. You might need to listen to this episode in
sections but, I think, it's certainly worth the taking the time to
do so.

Thank you for supporting Heart Lessons. If you know someone who
could use this resource, this episode or any other Heart Lessons
podcast episode, please feel free to share it. Nothing encourages
me more than to know that people are listening and being
encouraged themselves. Thank you all so much.